Govt commissions to establish migration institute

Babandede made this known at a meeting with the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed in Abuja on Thursday.

He said that the service was partnering with the commission to establish the institute which would be situated in Toga, Kebbi in Nigeria.

He said that the institute would be affiliated to universities in Nigeria and few West African countries.

“One thing we have to do if we want to develop our country is to develop our intellectual capacity."

“Our idea to reform the NIS is with the support from the NUC on the roadmap to start the migration institute."

“We are envisaging Migration Institution for West African countries as Nigeria Immigration is committed to tackling the challenges of migration management in the West Africa,” he said.

Babandede said that the institute would check migration issues and assist all neighbouring countries including French speaking nations in tackling their migration challenges.

“This institution that will be situated in Toga, Kebbi, Nigeria, will be an institution that will be affiliated to universities."

“We realise that for us to succeed on the plan, we have to partner with the NUC for guidelines so that we can have an institution that will develop capacity for migration challenges,” he added.

The NIS boss emphasised that the service needed to engage intellectuals to develop officers in specific terms to effectively discharge their duties.

“We have come to the National Universities Commission to see how we can engage intellectuals to develop our officers."

“If we do this and intellectuals come in, they will train millions of Nigeria and it will automatically develop Nigeria.”

Responding, Rasheed said the NUC and NIS would work together to promote migration studies in Nigeria and for the whole of West Africa.

He emphasised that the commission would give intellectual shape to the institute and help create high standard dimension that will extend the institute to the West African sub-region.

On the centrality of migration in the world affair today, he said that many governments of the world fell and rose because of migration issues.

“Our role is to work closely with the NIS to see to the take off of the proposed West African institute for migration management studies,” the executive secretary said.

Rasheed assured that the commission would ensure that programme of studies related to migration field were initiated into the curriculum of the institute.

He said that it would also engage credible professors in building of courses and curriculum that would be taught in the institute.

“NUC shall ensure that programmes of studies around the migration field is concrete and concretised and we will ensure that credible professors within and outside Nigeria are brought in preparation for the curriculum that will be taught,’’ he said.

On enhancing cross border education and the affiliation of the institute to universities, the NUC boss said that the choice of the universities could be one from Nigeria and another from the francophone neighbouring countries.

According to him, this will enhance the concept of cross border education and be tested first through Nigeria.

“It will be good if the NIS becomes the pioneer of this cross border education in Nigeria because NIS is the appropriate agency to start it,” he added.

He said that Nigeria needed more specialised universities that would open up the sector for more investments while maintaining quality.

He said that this would help the education sector from compromising quality as it would create more space for Nigerian youths to be educated in the country.

“It is in line that we welcome the proposal of the NIS to establish an institute for migration studies to tackle problems of migration from the perspective of West African sub-region.”